"Maskit" Galabiya Color Striped Dress Side Pockets Ruth Dayan Founder of Maskit Company est. 1954

"Maskit" Galabiya Color Striped Dress Side Pockets Ruth Dayan Founder of Maskit Company est. 1954

Maskit was a governmental company for manufacturing and marketing of local art in the fields of textile, goldsmith work and Olive Tree crafting established in Israel in 1954. At the head of Maskit stands Ruth Dayan, founder of the company and first wife of Moshe Dayan. The company products were made by artists from the mass immigration with 3 objectives in mind: suppy immigrants with occupation and income, conserve the material and cultural tradition of the immigrants and bring Israei society coser to the immigration out of values of culture and aesthetics and not just out of an image of distress a shortage. The works of Maskit, based on models and traditions brought by the immigrants of the Eastern diaspora turned over the years to a synonym for original Israeli art, especially in the fields of jewery crafting and Judaica dishes, weaving, embroidery, knitting and fashion design integrating folklore with modern design.

The inspiration for the Israeli style that solidified at Maskit was also drawn from the special Israeli light, from the landscapes of the land and its colors, and no less from the materials and textures that marked their impression on buttons and props. Also integrated are items from archeological findings disovered across the land such as ancient Roman shattered glass discovered by Moshe Dayan in his archeological excavations. These found their way, through his wife Ruth, the a setting into Maskit silver adornments.